SOLD!!

My i550 has been sold!

On to new adventures............

check www.doolitlecruising.blogspot.com for the latest....
thanks for visiting.

And if you have ANY doubts, BUY THE PLANS, BUILD THE BOAT!!!!!

It was everything I hoped for!!

Sailing w/ Gordon....

Had a beautiful sail Memorial Day weekend.

Here is the course we took and the speed data.....

Gotta like hitting 10 knots when it wasn't blowing more than 15! (More like 10-13....NO whitecaps).

And here is a link to some video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGrszoC8RuQ&feature=player_embedded#at=306

(Pardon the skip in the soundtrack.....)

Vallejo race......

Got the keel working (Gougeon ROCKS!!) and sailed the Vallejo Race.

Went to the right off the start looking for pressure and current relief....thought we had it dialed but as the wind peetered out towards Richmond it looked like the rest of the fleet was getting lifted out in the Bay. Consolidated after a few good tacks and found ourselves in the mix w/ boats from the earlier starts! Then started the tacking spiral from hell.....we were near the Richmond long wharf and although we were moving through the water well we were losing ground over all against a strong ebb. Watched one boat after another kick on their engine and drop out.....finally threw in the towel about 4 pm and had a lovely sail back to Berkely. Bummer, but we were in solid company as a majority of boats in the 250 plus fleet also DNF'd.....all we need is wind!!

Sailing Anarchy ROCKS!!

Another front page appearance by Carbon Offset....YEAH!!

www.sailinganarchy.com

Thanks SA for the exposure....Buy the Plans, Build the Boat!!!

Ben

Sailing Feb 5, 2011... OR ....Self-Rightous

The weather was so nice I (amost) feel guilty. Gusty winds from the north, probably pushing 20 knots at times, then dialing back to 5+ then puffing hard again....very technical but a GREAT way to get a feel for how the boat responds. The killer part was it was sunny and in the upper 70's....oh YEAH!!!!!

This is only my second outing where I saw any wind and both times have been 2 up....this boat will FLY w/ three guys on the rail. Had the keel humming nicely on a few reaches. John P (who helped out a TON on the build) was w/ me.

Here is a short video of 2 sail reaching:

We tried to launch the spinnaker at one point, shrimped it pretty badly, and decided that as the wind was blowing across the channel, there just wasn't room to run off to hoist it.

Here is a video of the self righting test.....it works!!

And here is the money shot of the day......BLISS!!!!

Three Bridge Fiasco recap

We came. we saw, we sailed.....we didn't finish (along w/ 2/3's of the fleet).

The boat sails great..the outboard let me down. Even though we were over an hour late to the start we caught up w/ the fleet and sailed through...until the wind died all together.

Here is a short video from the delivery back to Sausalito

Here is a pic of me and the boys in our hotel in SF this weekend.....what a way to spend one's Anniversary Weekend (YES, our 11th Anniversary.....and Molly says, "Sure, go sail boat racing!"....God, I love my wife!!)

And here is the boat back at home this evenning.

6 bricks and away we go....

Loading everything up tomorrow for the trip down to SF. Still some minor things to do (like CF #'s and some safety gear) but otherwise the boat is ready to go. Waiting to hear from the PHRF folks who met this evening...fingers crossed!!! Race is Saturday.

Here is a shot of the 240 lbs of ballast in 6 lead bricks, plus the box they fit into and the rods to tie them down. It all fits together nice and snug in the bilge and ties together tight. The box and tie downs feel like overkill....and I am still nervous about it!!

Bad news, good news ...

Bad news: While working on the boat in the driveway this evening, it got away from me. I have a slanted drive and usually just park the boat across the driveway so it stays put. Trying to get the boat back in the garage it got away from me and rolled, at an ever increasing speed, down the driveway and SMACK right into the minivan....SHEEE-OOOTTT! It did a fair bit of damage to the right rear panel of the van and totally blew out the right rear light fixture.

Good news: The boat sustained nothing more than a minor scratch....this thing is built like a brick outhouse!! I couldn't believe it when I pried the 2 apart! Any fear I had about how stout glass and ply can be have been aswaged.

I also am nearly done w/ the stern addition:

I also have 4 of six bricks that come in right on weight!! I'll do the last 2 tomorrow morning.

Getting excited (read nervous) about this weekend....here we go!!!!

Adanasstomy........

The i550 falls short of PHRF NorCal's minimums of 400 lbs ballast and 19' length. So to get a certificate to race against the "big boys" I need at least another 240 lbs internal ballast and a foot of length.

Therefore, I have developed the Adanasstomy: the latest in surgical procedures for the i550...adding length and heft. Thought about Viagra, looked at PBX 90. Settled on Meranti ply, West Systems and good old fashioned lead.

First, here is the bilge bay where I will put the extra lead. 11.5" x 2.5" x 3.5" equals 100 cubic inches of lead. 6 of those should equal 600 cubic inches. Multiply 600 cu in of lead by .4 lb per cubic inch and you get 240 pounds. Just what the PHRF doctor ordered. (Photos of moulds are in yesterdays post below). Bottom of the boat is already 1/4" x 2 here and the lead will fit into a special box of 1/2" ply...all in hopes that the extra internal ballast doesn't blow through the bottom of the boat!

The boat tends to sit a bit bow up (stern a draggin') so I decided to place the extra ballast just forward of the keel.

And here is the extra 18" of boat. Obviously still waiting on fairing and paint...but looking pretty good so far.

Unfortunately the i580 doesn't fit in the garage....so it sleeps at night as it's alter ego, the i550.....kinda like Bruce Wayne at home in his jammies.

Application for the PHRF cert goes in this week.....pray for us!!